Gang Lite?

Deputy Squyres says the same thing is happening in Harris County's jail.

"They're here," he says. "We know they're here and we see them here. People are definitely coming in who have never been in the criminal justice system before who are sporting all the tattoos and claiming to be Houstone."

Members such as Randy and Bill say you cannot join unless you go to state prison. However, they say county jail can serve as an educational seminar, but that's where it ends.

"It's really just the youngsters acting this way," says Randy. "I mean, you don't get initiated in county. But what you do is, you educate them on hand signs, the lingo, and what to do and what to expect."

The problem, he says, is that Houstone has gotten so large, and because it's unorganized, anyone can claim to be a member and it's nearly impossible to prove them right or wrong.

"When I was in county two years ago," says Randy, "this one guy was saying, 'Hey, that dude over there says he's Houstone, but he ain't in Houstone.' 'Well,' I said, 'Who the fuck let you in?' I mean, anybody can just walk on in because it's so easy to join, so you can't really question anybody."

Two years ago, Deputy Squyres was sitting at home on his couch sipping on a soda and watching the Astros play the Chicago White Sox in the World Series when suddenly, out of nowhere, he burst out ­laughing.

"They were showing some guy with an Astros star tattooed on the side of his head," he says, "and the announcer was saying something about what great fans we have here. I turned and said to my wife, 'That's not an Astros fan, he's Houstone.' And then the next day at work, some of the guys started joking about it, saying, 'I bet you that fool couldn't even tell you who's playing first base.'"

Houstone gang signs, symbols and tattoos are beginning to pop up all over town — on the street, at ballgames, at neighborhood parks. And many times, the ones sporting them are nothing but posers.

Several Sundays ago at the Lowrider Magazine Tour Show at Reliant Arena, a Hispanic teenaged boy was walking around with the word "Houston" tattooed across his back and one of the gang's symbols, "713," inked on his arm. When asked if he belonged to Houstone, he said, "Nah, I don't go with them," and then trotted off to catch up with his parents.

A few feet away, a man named Rudy was at a vending booth selling T-shirts with "Houston" artistically printed on the front. However, he says he often honors requests to print them up saying "­Houstone."

"Sometimes," he says, "I put on the extra 'e' because Houstone dudes are a lot of my customers and they ask for it. My uncle was real big into that group, but a lot of the time, the guys who ask for the 'Houstone' shirts aren't even real and have never been to prison."

A quick search for "Houstone" on MySpace reveals hundreds of pages with young men claiming to belong. The elaborately designed Web pages show pictures of the Astros star, $100 bills and Budweiser beer labels, but with the company's name replaced with "Houstone, the King of Cities." And they're riddled with catchy phrases like, "If you ain't blastin, you ain't lastin" and "I live the life of a 'G' until the grave or T.D.C. When you fuckin with Texas you fuckin with the best...Houstone Tango Blast."

YouTube also has several videos showing kids driving in cars saying, "H-Town for life," "Houstone to the bone" and other indecipherable rhymes.

"Most of these are people who have never been to prison, and they want to belong and be viewed as part of something," says Squyres. "And most of them are not idiots running around in the streets. These are kids who are sitting in their room who know how to use a computer and are playing all this gangster stuff out in their heads and on their computer because they think it's cool."

Squyres says he's even received reports from junior high and elementary school principals who have students writing Houstone graffiti on school property.

"Houstone has been around for a few years," says Victor Gonzalez of the Mayor's Anti-Gang Office, "but now for some reason the symbols and the name, it's getting all hyped up and people are taking them more seriously. I've got kids out there who can't wait to be Houstone. It's ridiculous."

An 18-year-old member of the Southwest Cholos hanging outside a convenience store in southwest Houston smiles when he hears the word "Houstone." He says he's never been locked up in the penitentiary, but would definitely join up if he is.

"I'd get down with them because I grew up here," he says, "You know, you gotta be proud of where you come from."

Randy has little patience for all the hype and so-called city pride.

"I think all those dudes are fucking retarded," he says. "I mean, Texas Syndicate and Mexican Mafia, they can't jump out there on MySpace or YouTube and say, 'Hey, we're Mexican Mafia, get down with us.' They'd be arrested or put down by their gang for publicizing their affairs. But Houstone does it, and people are like, 'Oh yeah, they're representing their city.' But it's one thing to represent your city; it's another when you do it with Houstone."